Tulsa, Jenks transportation projects get federal infrastructure grants
OKLAHOMA CITY — Officials on Thursday announced the receipt of federal grants totaling millions of dollars for transportation projects in Tulsa and Jenks, including one that will reconnect 51st Street under U.S. 75.
The projects are among six totaling $48.7 million for Oklahoma from the federal government’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity funds. Total allocations so far this year have totaled $2.2 billion.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation received $10 million in federal RAISE funds to reconstruct one mile of West 51st Street by reconnecting two ends of the street under U.S. 75.
The project will include a sidewalk along the entire length, a new pedestrian bridge over a railroad and a new connection to the Arkansas River trail system.
The project includes the construction of new bridges on U.S. 75 over 51st Street, as well as bridges on the southbound to westbound and westbound to northbound ramps in the Interstate 44-U.S. 75 interchange, the grant application says.
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The project is expected to reconnect neighborhoods that were severed with the construction of U.S. 75 more than 60 years ago, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation said in its grant application.
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Oklahoma Transportation Secretary Tim Gatz said the project will have a bicycle and pedestrian component to tie into the trails on the river.
The I-44 and U.S. 75 interchange in the same area is currently under construction, he noted, adding that that the $250 million interchange is being built in phases.
“This 51st Street connection is a phase of that project that was pretty important,” Gatz said. “It ties everything back together as we continue with construction.”
In addition, the Indian Nations Council of Governments will receive $16.2 million to provide a multimodal trail system in connection with the south Tulsa and Jenks dam project that will separate bicyclists and pedestrians from motorized traffic along the east and west banks of the Arkansas River.
The project also includes several sustainable projects, such as low-impact development to protect water resources, electric-vehicle charging stations and a land buffer along the river to reduce erosion.
The funds will allow officials to build a trail system connecting Jenks, Tulsa and Muscogee Nation communities, said Jenks Mayor Cory Box.
The west bank connection will connect Jenks with trails on the west side of the river to Tulsa and the Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness.
It is also another step closer to making the south Tulsa and Jenks low-water dam a reality, Box said.
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said this moves the area “one step closer to realizing a dream Tulsans have had for over 50 years and is yet another reminder of the better city we can build when we work together.”
In 2016, both Jenks and Tulsa residents passed Vision Tulsa ballot measures to invest in the Arkansas River by building a low-water dam between the river’s south Tulsa and Jenks banks. The dam is expected to have a major economic impact along that stretch of the river.
With the multimodal trail system funded, officials said they are close to closing the loop on funding the dam project.
“For 50 years, city leaders have envisioned developing two lakes in our river,” said Tulsa City Councilor Phil Lakin. “This project will give us unlimited opportunities to enjoy the outdoors, exercise and gather as a community.”
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